Buddhism flourished in Kashmir from the reign of Ashoka to the end of the Kushana dynasty. But its decline began with the accession of the Gonanda dynasty, and when Hiuen Tsiang visited the valley (circ. 631-633), he found that it had very considerably lost ground. Despite this Buddhism continued to exist peacefully side by side with Hinduism, and Hindu rulers who endowed shrines of Shiva and Vishnu, with equal zeal made foundations of Buddhist Stupas and Viharas. It is probably because of this that when Ou-k‘ong visited Kashmir in middle of the 8th century (759-763), he got the impression that Buddhism was in a flourishing state, though it was rapidly being replaced by Shiva worship, which had always occupied the first place among the Hindu Cults of the valley.1 In the 12th century Kashmir was predominately a Hindu society with ―not a space as large as a grain of Sesamum without Tirtha‖, according to Kalhana. However, at the turn of the 16th century we see Islam having replaced Hinduism as the mass religion of the valley to the extent that according to the contemporary Sinskrit chronicler, Srivara, the Brahmana boys ―are now fond of the Mausulas [Muslims] and are ashamed to follow the Shastra which was followed by their fathers and grand-fathers‖. Yet, the mid-16th century Central Asian conqueror and ruler of Kashmir, Mirza Haidar Dughlat was stunned to see religious laxity in Kashmir for which he blames the ‗Sufis‘ who ―are forever interpreting dreams, displaying miracles and obtaining from the unseen information regarding either the future or the past‖. The famous Mugul historian Abul Fazl and the Emperor Jagangir were struck by the popularity of the indigenous Sufis called Rishis. The famous French traveller French Brenier, disapprovingly refers to the widespread prevalence of Saints, cults and their abuse by the custodians of shrines. Yet, in the late 50‘s of the 20th century the famous social Anthropologist T.N.Madan found two identities in Kashmir-Kashmiri Muslims identity and Kashmiri-Hindu identity, each looking at itself distinct from the other. 2
The Kashmir valley is one of the most prominent Muslim majority areas in South Asia with not less than 94% of the Muslim population according to the earliest available Census reports. This remarkable change in the religious demography of Kashmir occurred especially during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries following mass conversion to Islam. It should be mentioned that except for a few immigrants the predominant majority of Kashmiri Muslims are converts from Hinduism and a thin slice from Buddhism. What is, however, remarkable about the spread of Islam in Kashmir is that conversions did not
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follow any military occupation of the valley by the Muslims. Notwithstanding the Muslims having extended their sway up to the territories situated on its northern and western boarders in the beginning of the 11th century and having occupied the whole northern India with the onset of the 13th century Kashmir continued to be ruled by the Hindu rajas upto 1339 with a brief intermitted of three years rule (1320-1323) of a Buddhist turned Muslim ruler, Rinchina. The Muslim Sultanate, which finally came into existence in 1339, was not, however, the result any military conquest of Kashmir by the Muslims, but was founded by a Muslim immigrant, Shahmir who, along with many other Muslim settlers from the neighboring Muslim-ruled territories, had settled in the valley and shown exemplary qualities of leadership to bail the people out of centuries of misrule and recurrent foreign invasions prompted by the internal chaotic conditions of Kashmir. Such a role as this made Shahmir a popular hero, winning for him titles like ‗Saviour of the people‘ and that too from the die-hard Brahmanas. To be sure, Shahmir occupied the throne and founded his dynastic rule primarily with the help of local mobility and people at large. Thus conversions to Islam, which took place in
The Kashmir valley is one of the most prominent Muslim majority areas in South Asia with not less than 94% of the Muslim population according to the earliest available Census reports. This remarkable change in the religious demography of Kashmir occurred especially during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries following mass conversion to Islam. It should be mentioned that except for a few immigrants the predominant majority of Kashmiri Muslims are converts from Hinduism and a thin slice from Buddhism. What is, however, remarkable about the spread of Islam in Kashmir is that conversions did not
3 | P a g e
REFERENCE:
follow any military occupation of the valley by the Muslims. Notwithstanding the Muslims having extended their sway up to the territories situated on its northern and western boarders in the beginning of the 11th century and having occupied the whole northern India with the onset of the 13th century Kashmir continued to be ruled by the Hindu rajas upto 1339 with a brief intermitted of three years rule (1320-1323) of a Buddhist turned Muslim ruler, Rinchina. The Muslim Sultanate, which finally came into existence in 1339, was not, however, the result any military conquest of Kashmir by the Muslims, but was founded by a Muslim immigrant, Shahmir who, along with many other Muslim settlers from the neighboring Muslim-ruled territories, had settled in the valley and shown exemplary qualities of leadership to bail the people out of centuries of misrule and recurrent foreign invasions prompted by the internal chaotic conditions of Kashmir. Such a role as this made Shahmir a popular hero, winning for him titles like ‗Saviour of the people‘ and that too from the die-hard Brahmanas. To be sure, Shahmir occupied the throne and founded his dynastic rule primarily with the help of local mobility and people at large. Thus conversions to Islam, which took place in
